Liquid concentrates of various scents are often employed to either lure deer and other hunted game, or to camouflage the scent of the hunter. In luring these animals, it is common for hunters to use scents of the hunted animals, such as urines, estrus scents, and the metatarsus of the animals, particularly at the rut time. The olfactory organs of these game are also sensitive to the scent of humans. Hunters often attempt to disguise their scent to avoid detection by these wild animals. The scents that are used to mask the human scents are typically those scents indigenous to the natural environment of the game. Examples of these scents include pheromones or musk of the hunted animal, pine, cedar, white oak, acorn, apple, or urine from other co-inhabitors of the area.
The scent may be dispensed in a number of ways. The liquid concentrate of the scent may be applied to the clothing or shoes of the hunter, it may be sprinkled in the hunting area, or it may be carried in an open or porous cannister. The application of liquid scent concentrate to the clothing or shoes of the hunter is disadvantageous because the odor is strong and may be somewhat unpleasant. The odor permeates the hunter's clothing and the clothing may retain the unpleasant odor long after the hunting season is over.
The sprinkling of the liquid scent in the hunting area may be an inefficient and wasteful dispersal method. The liquid scent is relatively expensive, and it may be easy to dispense more than necessary.
The carrying of the liquid scent in an open or porous container may be unwieldy to hunters that must carry their guns and other necessary gear. Since heat aids in the diffusion of the masking or luring scent, the scent must often be heated to at least body temperature to obtain an effective dispersion of the scent. The hunter must therefore be concerned with maintaining the necessary fuel or energy source to heat the scent.